and will introduce those during the state of the city speech next monday. on day when president obama came to annapolis to meet with democratic leaders, hundreds showed up at the statehouse to protest gun control bills. as don harrison explains, it wasn't just gun owners. >> reporter: close to 1,000 people gathered to show their displeasure over governor o'malley's gun restrictions. one of them is the limit of magazine size. the governor wants to ban .45 assault weapons. >> personal liberties are being infringed upon by our politicians who are here by the

grace of our votes and they're only temporary employees. >> recently purchased a new gun. i went out to try it. this is the first shot i took with it. >> reporter: one of those politicians who ad to be agree is senator nancy jacobs. >> this bill is an infringement upon everyone's second amendment rights. >> reporter: in a much more serene setting the governor spoke to the senate judicial commit. the room was standing room only. the governor fees anyone who wants to buy a handgun should be forced to get lap license. part of that would mean passing a firearms safety course. >> we are not trying to ban hand guns. this law protects legal gun ownership. it is designed to stop criminals from buying guns. >> reporter: besides the governor and the legislation discussing their gun issues today, the president was in town. part of his address, talking

about his federal gun legislation. annapolis, don harrison, abc2 news. >> a license would cost over $300 million to initiate and over $700 to run for the first year. it gained some celebrity power on capitol hill. amanda pete, chris rock, adam scott all talked about gun violence. the daughter of robert kennedy and the sun of martin luther king, jr. were also there to speak. the event was sponsored by the end violence campaign. for more, just log on to abc2news.com and search gun debates. there you can find arguments for and against gun control. changes are coming for the cash strapped u.s. postal service. starting later on this year you will no longer receive letters

on saturday. some are saying this change was unevidentable -- inevitable. >> reporter: the post office plans to cut mail on saturdays. >> i want my mail on saturdays. >> reporter: packages would be delivered six days a week but letters and first class mail would only go out during the weekdays. >> financial stability with postal service losses, in part, because of the growing popularity of email and online bill pay. they also blame the financial whoas on a 2006 law requiring the post sal service to pay $5 1/2 billion a year, one of the

many reasons members of the learn postal workers union said this could be avoided. >> congress created a problem. congress refused to solve the problem. now management is going along. >> reporter: after already closing thousands of post offices andions, they feel thisa necessary move this will save $2 billion a year, a measure many customers say they understand. >> to me it doesn't matter. i'm retired. it doesn't matter whether they stop. the workers are who i'm concerned about. raises for military members are up in the hair for next year. outgoing defense secretary leon panetta wants congress to chop a pay raise for troops. he is proposing salaries be limited to a 17% increase next year instead of the 1.7%.

he said it's tied to the defense department's budget. you know you're probably already paying an arm and a leg for that smartphone. find out how much this will be in the next four years. star wars fans, we'll explain what's being planned and when you'll see it in the theater. >> wyatt everhart, dundalk, ccbc. we'll talk about how things will change by friday. stick around for that.

looking at the market, it looks flat. the dow jones is up only seven and a quarter. the nasdaq down three and the s&p up almost 1%. if you think you're playing more for that smartphone data plan, it will get worse. monthly bills will be about $40 higher in four years. you can thank 4g for that price increase. americans are expecting to be using eight times more data per

month in four years when 4g becomes more of a norm. it may cost more but the report predicts connection speeds will be three times faster from now. disney is expanding the galaxy far, far away after purchasing lucas films. disney announced the new star wars trilogy. they will be written around a specific character. they are tentatively scheduled to be released sometime after episode seven which is due out in 2015. our hot topic today a classic game board is undergoing a change. monopoly is adding a new token and taking away an old one. it is swapping out the iron for a cat. the company used an online contest to choose a new token. they wanted a token representative of current players. what do you think?

is this a good move for monopoly or should it not mess with the classic? let us know what you think. since russia's adoption ban, some americans may never see the children again. >> and the boy scouts of america are not ready to accept gay members yet. find out when a decision will be made. irene, drop the itch.

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it continues to be a clear cool night, the best way to describe it chilly by february standards. 41 at the airport.

winds northwesterly. a big chop on the severn river in the state capital. pretty good day for sailing. clouds come from nateing part of the afternoon but clearing later in the day in the heart of harford county and mt. airy. you had a mix of sun and clouds. on the whole a nice clear fin nirchlt winds out of the west, northwest 10 to 15, breezy, chilly, but still air temps are at or above 40 and are in the and west the numbers are above the freezing mark. an early look at some of the temperatures you'll be seeing tomorrow, it will be slightly cooler, more clouds. that will mean 39 or so. 38 in cockeysville. across the region right now you can see partly cloudy skies mainly north and west. the main weather system is down in texas right now. that will be sliding up the

coast as we go forward in town. stop it right here. through the day tomorrow some increasing clouds. the time track on the system is somewhat in question. it will hug the coast remain just offshore. the heaviest rains will be on the eastern shore, showers from build west rain with a brief wintry mix. but there will be heavy snow in the new england states. here's the storm as it develops off the texas coast. this is our friday runner. it will take several more days to get here, about 36 hours. we're talking early friday into friday afternoon. storm track. you can see the setup bring it into the mid-atlantic states. the ultimate result blizzard like conditions for parts of new england. rainy conditions across most of maryland, maybe a little snow wrapping around the back side late friday night into early saturday morning but travels to

new york city up through boston and along the east coast, toward portland, maine, tough conditions for friday and early saturday. tonight 26, mostly clear and cold. 40 with clouds on the increase. tomorrow night down to 34. late showers, rain with sleet to the north and west potentially at onset. mostly a rain event for the state. take a look for the next seven days. windy with rain friday. this thing could end with some snow showers, flurries late friday night early into saturday and then the weekend clears out. a windy day saturday but clearing out and looks like we'll be close to 50 on monday, so a little bit of everything, a fairly cold pattern. big travel headaches to the north. if you have a flight out of bwi on friday, it's possible the grid if it backs up out of boston low dwan, that could have an impact. weeks ago we told you about

russia's ban on adoptions to the u.s. but tonight there's a happy ending for at least one family. dozens of other couples may never see their children again. we have one store -- family's story from moscow. >> reporter: it's a reunion that almost didn't happen. they arrived in moscow to pick up a 5-year-old orphan with spina bifida, now that are adopted daughter. >> it's a dream come true. >> reporter: pauline na is one of the last russian children to be adopted by americans barely escaping russia's new ban that went into effect january 1st, part of russia's retaliation for human rights sanctions. america has adopted more than 60,000 children but russia has reported 19 children being

aused. one person gave them $1,000 for expenses. finally, authorities agreed to allow 50 children to travel to the u.s., yet hundreds other adoptions remain stuck. as they prepare to leave moscow, she was excited, practicing her english and playing with her new gift. >> she's learning that it's forever. >> reporter: when the plane touched down in houston, she was finally home. we were expecting big news from the boy scouts of america on banning gay members. instead a vote on the policy has been postponed for months. over the weekend boy scouts pushed for an end to the policy.

the president also made his position on the policy clear. >> the scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exhibit posing them top opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives. i think nobody should be barred from that. >> scouting is teaching life's lessons. sex at is not one of -- sexuality is not one of them. you know, the ravens super bowl win is a great example of how sports can play a hook -- huge role in a child's life. it teaches kids about working hard and working together.

abc2's health reporter linda so has more on a school that's dedicated to making a student's life better on the field and in life. >> reporter: each step has made him fast are on his feet and stronger in his mind. >> max was one of the quietest kids. >> reporter: but that changed as the teamworked with him. here during personalized group sessions, they work on everything from building your strength to coordination and speed. >> nice. >> reporter: the goal is to not only make you a better athlete but a better person. >> not a competitive program where we're pitting kids against each other but helping them improve for themselves.

>> i would say -- now it's like okay. >> reporter: that positive attitude has made a dishes for max on the court -- difference for max on the court. he's on several travel teams. >> every time he hits the field or the court or anything like that, he has sort of a -- he carries himself with i can do this. i can succeed. >> reporter: the success has carried over into the classroom as well. >> i have confidence i can do well in my test. so i study hard but if it's hard i always say wait, i can do this. >> telling everybody what they should do. >> reporter: it's been such a positive experience for max. his younger brother alex is following in his footsteps. kids as young as seven can

enroll at parise, helping young athletes see what they can accomplish. reporting for abc2 news. >> the parise school trains athletes who want to pursue a career in sports. follow linda so on twitter for the latest health stories. you can find her stories in the health section of abc2news.com. girl scouts are teaming up with local schools to focus on stem projects for girls. sherrie johnson has more on how the project is making a difference. >> reporter: here at woodbridge elementary these fourth grade girls are saying the girl scout pledge. they participate in a stem program called design time. they use the principles of the

engineering project. >> we have wonderful examples here. i think this program really highlights the things that -- the types of things that stem as it offer. >> reporter: this program allows girls to redishien toy by finding a problem, researching, brainstorming and redesigning or modifying it. girls begin to identify stem careers like research and development, design and packaging engineering and software development. >> girlsing a behind boys in their interest in science and technology, and so girl scouts central maryland is very focused on increasing girls' knowledge. >> reporter: they meet one day a week for an hour. it helps them build confidence. >> we get to build toys.

>> i want to become a scientist when i grow up and so i'm getting ready like building toys. >> reporter: with one design at a time, these girls are preparing to be college and career ready, a big goal for baltimore county public schools. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> the girl scouts of central maryland has served over 1200 girls in baltimore city and baltimore county. grant funding pays for the program at the school . coming up at 6:00, we're keeping you up dated on today's breaking news, a guilty verdict in the phylicia barnes trial. how the state was labor to convict without physical -- able to convict without physical evidence. >> here's a preview of what's

head at 6:30. >> mark's secret war and you'll see what she found in the middle east today. >> how much would you pay for a restaurant dinner if they said pay what you want?

barbara walters was back on "the view," not in person, but she called. her problems started after a fall at a preinauguration party. >> i hit my head and had six stitches and got in addition to

the chicken pox -- that's what we found out what it was and i had never had. i had been with somebody's company who had the shingles and got the chicken pox from them but i also got a concussion. >> walters said she isn't in any pain but does feel weak and tired. she expects to be back on "the view" in about three weeks. could the way you speak be turning off potential dates? that's on abc2 news at 6 which starts right now. guilty of second-degree murder of phylicia barnes. michael johnson faces up to 30 years in prison. >> a woman is stabbed to death inside her pikesville apartment where two children were home. tonight how children -- police were able to track down the suspect. >>